Tremors

People are dying in Perfection, Nevada. Blissfully unaware of this, two handy men (Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward) are trying to leave for a bigger city. A smart move considering Perfection only has something like 11 people in it. Yet fate decides they are not going to leave as people start dropping like flies around them. First Edgar, the local drunk is found dead up a power line, dehydrated with a shotgun and his belt tied around the metal. Second is Old Fred and his flock of sheep that are found in a bloody heap in the yard. Finally two road workers. When they were killed there was a rock slide blocking the road, cutting Perfection off from the world outside.  The town decides it's best to send for help and Val and Earl (Bacon and Ward) are sent to the closest city while the local gun-totting maniacs (Reba McEntire and Michael Gross) go hunting for critters. After finding the doctor and his wife dead, Val and Earl discover what has been killing everybody: giant underground worms with three tentacle-like tongues with mouth things on the ends of them.

After killing one by running it into a cement wall, and with the help of a beautiful geology student they not only discover how these things hunt, but that there are three more of them. Once again in Perfection they rally what's left of the town only to be cornered by the three remaining 'Grabboids'.

Pulling together they manage to defeat the creatures and all live a happily ever after.

As 'horror' movies go, it's not the scariest; well it was when I was like 10. As I stopped being afraid of the monsters under the ground I realized how much I loved this movie. It's a cheesy horror movie that I actually enjoy, unlike other crappy horror movies that my friends make me watch. I'll have you know that Burt Gummer is my ultimate hero. I love this guy. All horror movie heroes will be judged on a scale of 1 to Bert Gummer. I mean this man was prepared for everything, totally calm while the enemy attacks and then witty and sarcastic afterwards. What's not to love?! I was so happy when I discovered he was in the other three movies. He's the only thing that made them watchable.

With any movie there are mistakes and things that are never explained. Where the creatures came from, for one thing. They made suggestions during the movie, yet never gave a concrete answer. Where were Melvin's parents? Did this annoying teenager just live in Perfection on his own? Were his parents out of town? Did they run away from him? Did they send him to relatives because he got in trouble back home? One sentence is all I needed. Just a 'they'll be back in a few days' but I got nothing. Nothing!

Why are Val and Earl living out here? In the middle of nowhere? Why would anyone put a town out there to begin with? But for arguments sake, let's say there's a good reason for some town to be out in sand country with a population of less than a dozen. (Well, there is a good reason. The 4th movie explains that there used to be a mine in the town and when it died out people just kept on living there.) Anyway I understand why Walter's there, every town needs a store. I understand why the Gummers are there, geographic isolation, they like that sort of thing........whatever. The doctor I get, Nancy and her daughter I understand, probably trying to start a new life after a divorce or a death or something. The others, well they're townspeople and a town needs people. But I don't get Val and Earl. Unless they lived there all their lives, which I really don't see, I don't get why they stopped on the road at a dead end dirt road at a dead end town and said to themselves 'hey this is a nice place to set up shop'. Maybe they took a wrong turn and were just to lazy to turn around again.

Oh well, I still enjoyed this movie. It was mindless fun.

Grade: 7/10